Startups

How startups can achieve outsized results by leveraging multi-agent systems.

Brooks Barnes / New York Times: How animation startup Toonstar uses its AI tools to make animated content up to 90% cheaper than traditional methods; its YouTube series has 30M weekly viewers  —  A.I. has yet to upend Hollywood.  But it is starting to make big inroads in animation.  —  The founders of Toonstar …

Belgium-based Ravical has secured €7.3mn in pre-seed funding to bring AI agents to professional services firms in tax, legal, accounting, and insurance.  Joris Van Der Gucht, Ravical’s CEO and co-founder, said the “virtual employees” could do 80% of the work in these firms.   “Ravical’s agents take on the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that slow experts down,” he told TNW, citing examples such as retrieving data from internal systems, checking the latest regulations, or reading long policies.  Despite doing up to 80% of the work in these firms, Van Der Gucht downplayed concerns about the agents supplanting humans. “We don’t expect job…This story continues at The Next Web

Founded in 2021, ReproNovo has licensed rights to two drugs from Mereo BioPharma and ObsEva that it thinks could address fertility issues in men and women.

It's a sign that OpenAI is seriously working on consumer devices embedded with AI.

On acquiring the startup in a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock deal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he wants AI devices to create 'an embarrassment of riches.'

OpenAI is buying Jony Ive's startup, io, for $6.5 billion, as first reported by The New York Times. The company confirmed the news in a blog post on its website headlined by the photo you see above, which is apparently real and not AI generated. As part of the deal, Ive and his design studio, LoveForm, will continue to work independently of OpenAI. However, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, who co-founded io with Ive, will become OpenAI employees.  OpenAI has not disclosed whether the deal would be paid for in cash or stock. The company has yet to turn a profit. According to reporting from The Information, OpenAI has agreed to share 20 percent of its revenue with Microsoft until 2030 in return for the more than $13 billion the tech giant has invested into it.   Developing... This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-buys-jony-ives-design-startup-for-65-billion-173356962.html?src=rss

OpenAI has announced the first details about its work with Jony Ive. The announcement includes a video that also answers the mystery of what Jony Ive was filming in San Francisco recently. The effort involves Evans Hankey, who briefly replaced Jony Ive at Apple, and comes in the form of a new firm called io that is merging with OpenAI. Jony Ive, OpenAI employee. more…

OpenAI said on Wednesday that it's acquiring Jony Ive's artificial intelligence devices startup io for $6.4 billion.

OpenAI said on Wednesday that it's acquiring Jony Ive's artificial intelligence devices startup io for $6.4 billion.

Bloomberg: OpenAI is buying io, Jony Ive's secretive AI startup, for ~$6.5B in stock; Ive and LoveFrom will remain independent but take over design for all of OpenAI  —  OpenAI will acquire the AI device startup co-founded by Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive in a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock deal …

For some biotechs, the office is a place where scientists gather and pipelines advance. For others, it’s a boat anchor dragging them to the bottom of the sea. Four years into the biotech downturn, some ...

The firm expects its 19.9 MW bitcoin mine to be running by the end of July.

Constellations aim to bridge gap between space-based monitoring and ground-level firefighting efforts The post Satellite startups race to enhance wildfire detection and response appeared first on SpaceNews.

Emily Mason / Bloomberg: Singapore-based business banking and payments startup Airwallex raised $150M at a $6.2B valuation, up from $5.6B in October 2022, and debuts a $150M share sale  —  Business banking and payments firm Airwallex raised $150 million in fresh equity financing to increase its investment …

Berber Jin / Wall Street Journal: AI startup Crusoe secures $11.6B in debt and equity to expand a Texas data center it is building for OpenAI, set to open in 2026 and host up to 400K Nvidia GPUs  —  The eight-building Texas project is a central piece of OpenAI's efforts to reduce its reliance on Microsoft for computing power

The start-up Every centered its business model on artificial intelligence, and has raised $2 million from backers including Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn.

Altos Labs, the massive but still relatively secretive $3 billion biotech, has forged a small acquisition of a startup seeking to reverse aging. Altos, led by industry stalwarts Hal Barron and Hans ...

Amsterdam-based Theta Capital Management has raised over $175 million for its latest fund-of-funds, aimed at supporting early-stage blockchain startups through specialized venture capital (VC) firms.The new vehicle, Theta Blockchain Ventures IV, will channel capital into crypto-native VC firms with a track record in backing blockchain innovation, Theta’s managing partner and chief investment officer Ruud Smets told Bloomberg. Smets said the strategy focuses on specialist managers who can outperform generalist investors in the earliest funding rounds. “We’ve always been looking for areas where specialization and active management provide a sustainable edge,” Smets noted. He said that the experience and positioning of dedicated crypto VCs “has compounded over time,” creating barriers for less focused investors trying to enter the space. Founded in 2001, Theta shifted its focus to digital assets in 2018 and

[Written in partnership with Cradle Fund, but the editorial team had full control over the content.] The long-awaited Expo 2025 in Osaka has been many years in the making, with the last one having been held during the pandemic era. Now back after four years, the six-month Expo has all eyes on them.  Which is why it’s extra exciting to hear that Cradle is bringing eight Malaysian startups to be featured on this coveted stage.  From agritech to AI, healthtech to sustainable innovation, these startups will be leveraging this incredible platform to possibly strike up valuable global collaborations.  Here’s who those eight startups are.  1. Qarbotech  Image Credit: Qarbotech Not a stranger to Vulcan Post, Qarbotech is a nanotech and agritech company specialising in manufacturing photosynthesis enhancers.  The startup was founded by CEO Chor Chee Hoe, Chief Scientist Prof. Dr. Suraya

"Entrepreneurship is really hard. There's no instant success ... You just have to be ready to fail," says Dayu Dara Permata, co-founder and CEO of Pinhome.

Six innovative ag tech startup companies have been selected to participate in VINE Connect, a program that vets and connects emerging agricultural technology with growers who can put it to use. California growers continue to face pressing issues, from persistent drought and limited labor to crop pest concerns. These startups were chosen for their promising … The post Startups to Showcase Irrigation, Robotics, Pest-Detection Tech June 26 appeared first on California Ag Network.

The Andreessen Horowitz-backed companies represented at a meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. include Function Health and Talkiatry.

Reservoir Farms, an agricultural technology incubator based in California’s Salinas Valley, has opened applications for its inaugural cohort of 12 startups. The initiative is designed to foster innovation in specialty ... Read More The post Reservoir Farms Opens Applications for Inaugural Cohort of 12 Startups appeared first on AgNet West.

Calibrate has replaced its CEO and made several other executive changes, Endpoints News has learned, the latest leadership reset at the once high-flying weight loss company. Rob Rebak, a veteran CEO of private-equity-backed healthcare companies ...

Bloomberg: Inside the first Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas: thousands working to build eight near-identical structures, startup Crusoe spending $12B, and more  —  OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank hope that the site in Texas is the first of many across the US.  —  Trucks carrying concrete …

Telehealth is becoming more comprehensive than a quick online visit. Portland, OR-based Reperio Health got its start in 2020 selling at-home testing kits for employers and health plans, but this year it added a telehealth ...

Isabelle Bousquette / Wall Street Journal: SignalFire: in 2024, Big Tech employment declined 1.6% in Austin, and startup employment fell 4.9%; Dallas, Houston, Denver, and Toronto also declined  —  Regional tech hubs across the U.S. are losing talent as workers return to the coasts, with Austin being one of the hardest hit

The Dutch startup ecosystem has slipped to 10th place globally and sixth in Europe, according to the newly released Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025.  The annual report, compiled by research platform StartupBlink, benchmarks the startup strength of over 1,400 cities and 110 countries worldwide.  The US took the top spot globally, with the UK coming in second. Among the European nations, Britain was followed by Sweden (sixth), Germany (seventh), and France (eighth). Switzerland claimed ninth place,  pushing the Netherlands down one spot.   However, it’s not all bad news for the Dutch startup ecosystem, which saw an above-average growth rate of…This story continues at The Next Web

Today’s investors are more cautious, prioritising startups with proven track records, scalable business models, and clear paths to profitability The post From idea to impact: How MENA startups can stand out in a global arena appeared first on Gulf Business.

Fahad Abuljadayel / Bloomberg: Graphiant, a San Jose-based NaaS startup, raised a $19M Series B extension led by Aramco's Wa'ed and Saudi Telecom's Tali, bringing the round total to $102M  —  The venture capital arms of Saudi Arabia's oil and telecom giants have invested in US tech startup Graphiant Inc. as the kingdom seeks …

Your startup might be built to break — and you won't see it coming.

Eventually, this technology could take passengers from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours.

Seraphim Space announced the startups joining the 15th round of its networking and mentoring accelerator program May 19, reflecting the rising convergence of commercial innovation and national defense priorities. The post Seraphim picks 10 startups for 15th space accelerator appeared first on SpaceNews.

Logistics startup Stord said Monday that its buying UPS subsidiary Ware2Go as it looks to expand its footprint in the ecommerce space.

Logistics startup Stord said Monday that its buying UPS subsidiary Ware2Go as it looks to expand its footprint in the ecommerce space.

Smartex detects flaws in fashion textiles as they are produced and claims to have prevented 1 million kilograms of fabric from going to waste.

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal: A look at Neuralink and other brain-computer interface startups, as the number of people with brain implants is set to double from ~100 in the next 12 months  —  In the next 12 months, the number of people with a brain-computer interface is set to double  —  A high-stakes technology race is playing out in the human brain.

Anissa Gardizy / The Information: Sources: Nvidia is in advanced talks to invest in PsiQuantum, a startup looking to build quantum computers that is in the process of raising $750M+  —  Nvidia is in advanced talks to invest in PsiQuantum, a quantum computing startup, according to a person involved in the discussions.

Sayan Chakraborty / Nikkei Asia: Venture Intelligence: Indian deep tech startups have raised $4.7B since 2014, accounting for just 3.2% of Indian startup funding, signaling a sector-wide crunch  —  BENGALURU — Arjun Rao wanted to go off the beaten track with his venture capital firm Speciale Invest, convinced …

Kinling Lo / Rest of World: Chinese startups are highlighting their roots instead of downplaying them as they grow overseas, fueled by the success of Chinese social media apps and DeepSeek  —  Following DeepSeek's rise, more Chinese companies are highlighting their roots as they expand overseas.

The Economic Times: Sources: Indian investment app Groww agrees to acquire wealthtech startup Fisdom in an all-cash deal, valuing Fisdom at $140M to $160M; Fisdom had raised ~$48M  —  Groww, India's leading stockbroking platform, is set to acquire wealthtech startup Fisdom in an all-cash deal, valuing the latter between $140 million and $160 million.

Allie Garfinkle / Fortune: Stord, a logistics startup serving over 500 mid-market e-commerce brands, raised an $80M Series E led by Strike Capital at a $1.5B valuation and $120M in debt  —  Sean Henry of Stord.  —  Stord  —  In third grade, Sean Henry had enough of the baseball bat dilemma.

Europe has been turning uranium into energy for over half a century. In the process, the continent has amassed vast stockpiles of nuclear waste. This radioactive material can take millions of years to become safe, and no one really knows what to do with it. Thorizon, a Franco-Dutch startup, has an idea: reuse the nuclear waste to generate new energy. The company is developing a small modular molten salt reactor (MSR) that runs on a mix of spent nuclear fuel and thorium, a radioactive metal with untapped potential.  Thorizon aims to begin construction of its first reactor, Thorizon One, within…This story continues at The Next Web

Swiss tech startup Metafuels has unveiled plans to open its first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the Port of Rotterdam.  Metafuels’ CEO Saurabh Kapoor told TNW that Turbe represents a “major step forward” toward ramping up SAF production. The startup also announced plans to build a similar facility in Denmark last year. “Europe has ambitious decarbonisation targets, but without scalable and affordable SAF production, aviation will struggle to keep up,” said Kapoor.  The facility, dubbed Turbe, will be built in collaboration with liquid energy storage provider Evos. Turbe will be integrated into Evos’ existing Rotterdam terminal, which offers…This story continues at The Next

IdBase is tackling ticket bots and scalping, giving real fans a fair chance to see their favorite artists and teams.

ADARx Pharmaceuticals will work with AbbVie to make RNA interference medicines for a variety of disease areas, including neurology, immunology and cancer. 

Mobile-first blockchain Pi Network has launched a $100 million fund to invest in initiatives built on its infrastructure.According to a May 14 announcement, the Pi Foundation is launching Pi Network Ventures with an initial investment of $100 million in Pi (PI) tokens and US dollars. The fund will invest in startups and businesses building on Pi Network or contributing to its broader ecosystem. “This strategic program intends to invest in high-quality startups and companies across sectors, driving innovation and ecosystem growth,” Pi Network said in an X post. Source: Pi Network The Pi Foundation, the organization behind Pi Network, is described as an “ownerless” entity focused on supporting long-term ecosystem development. The foundation said the new venture fund will draw from the 10% of Pi tokens reserved for ecosystem initiatives. Pi Network did not respond to Cointelegraph’s

As the FDA halts the sale of Ozempic and Zepbound copycats, online clinics have begun offering liraglutide, an older GLP-1 medication injected daily instead of weekly.

Welsh startup Space Forge has raised $30mn to advance its first commercial in-orbit manufacturing satellite, ForgeStar-2. The NATO Innovation Fund led the funding round, the largest Series A financing in UK space tech history. Space Forge’s demonstrator — the ForgeStar-1 — is set to launch from the US on a SpaceX rocket this year. The oven-sized satellite will then harness the conditions of space to produce “supermaterials” that are impossible to make on Earth. Joshua Western, Space Forge’s CEO and co-founder, compared the technology to a sourdough starter — a small but potent base for growing something much bigger. “Our…This story continues at The Next Web

Too many crypto startups are pricing themselves out of venture capital funding by chasing valuations far exceeding their revenues, according to Dan Tapeiro, the CEO of crypto-focused venture capital firm 10T Holdings.“For some reason, founders and CEOs think that they should be raising capital at 50 to 80 times revenue. So that makes it very hard for us to make a return for our liquidity providers,” Tapeiro said while speaking in a panel discussion at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 14. “So a lot of those deals we just pass almost automatically, even businesses that we really like, we won't invest in if the price isn't reasonable in the beginning.”10T Holdings has passed on over 200 companies for similar reasons, including the now-bankrupt FTX, BlockFi and Celsius, Tapeiro said.  Tapeiro said 10T Holdings looks for crypto projects that have valuations above the $400 million to $500 million range with a

The funding round was led by Hanaco Ventures and other space and defense-focused investors The post Nuclear battery startup Zeno Power raises $50 million to expand in space and at sea appeared first on SpaceNews.

SuppCo's wellness app scores products, tracks routines, and pushes the industry toward much-needed transparency.

Belle Lin / Wall Street Journal: Databricks agrees to acquire cloud database startup Neon for ~$1B, set to close in Q2 2025; Neon's platform is based on open-source database PostgreSQL  —  The deal is aimed at making it easier for businesses to build artificial intelligence agents with their own data, Databricks CEO says

A new generation of space companies is thinking bigger. From kilometers-wide orbital data centers to solar power stations requiring even larger structures in space, some of the most ambitious space […] The post Space-based solar power startups are banking on Starship’s success appeared first on SpaceNews.

Electric cars such as those from Tesla, which is trying to develop its own robotaxi, have previously caught blaze.

Databricks, one of the most highly valued tech startups, is using some of its fresh capital for acquisitions.

Having a network of strategic partners is essential for sustainable growth. Here's why — and what it takes to build one.

LOUIS, MO. – The Danforth Technology Company (DTC) today announced the launch of Spearhead Bio, a startup pioneering a breakthrough platform to enhance the efficiency of crop genome engineering by harnessing the plant’s own natural DNA. Spearhead’s Transposase Assisted Homology Independent Targeted Insertion (TAHITI) technology allows the seamless integration of genes into both transgenic and […] The post Danforth Technology Company Launches Genome Editing Startup appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

Venture capital firms remain critical to infrastructure development in the Bitcoin ecosystem, despite pushback from some in the community, according to builders speaking at the Token2049 conference in Dubai.Charlie Yechuan Hu, CEO of Bitcoin layer-2 protocol Bitlayer, shared his insights on venture capital (VC) firms in the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem.Hu told Cointelegraph that he views many VC firms in the space positively, as they offer support to early ventures that need capital to build infrastructure. “You need developers, you need to open up the whole ecosystem foundation, everything,” Hu said. “You need to pay for the cloud, like AWS or RPCs, all that, servers […] So, we have to have VC on that.“ Hu argued against the usual Bitcoiner ethos that argues against outsider capital, saying, “It’s difficult to say, okay, let’s do a fair mint, and then have a very successful, healthy treasury, and

In a press release this morning, Apple announced its suite of new accessibility features coming to the iPhone later this year. This includes Accessibility Nutrition Labels on the App Store, a new Magnifier app for Mac, and more. A new report from The Wall Street Journal (Apple News+ link) today dives deeper into another accessibility breakthrough Apple is developing: the ability to control your iPhone with your brain. more…

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal: Apple partners with brain-computer interface startup Synchron to explore letting iPhone users control the device with brain signals via a stent-like implant  —  iPhone-maker works with startup Synchron on new brain computer interfaces to help disabled people use its devices

Chamath Palihapitiya has weighed in on the implications of Klarna scaling back AI, hinting it can signal a challenge for AI-first startups. read more

Katie Roof / Bloomberg: Restaurant tech startup Owner.com, which offers AI website building, marketing, and other tools raised $120M co-led by Meritech and Headline at a $1B valuation  —  Meritech and Headline co-led a $120 million funding around for the startup.  —  Owner.com Inc., a startup making software …

The SoftBank CFO said OpenAI's planned restructuring with the nonprofit keeping control is something that was expected.

The SoftBank CFO said OpenAI's planned restructuring with the nonprofit keeping control is something that was expected.

Sylvia Pfeifer / Financial Times: German defense tech startup Helsing unveils an autonomous underwater drone fleet, the SG-1 Fathom, powered by its AI system Lura to detect and classify sounds  —  European start-up aims to capitalise on western countries' interest in underwater reconnaissance capabilities

Melissa Heikkilä / Financial Times: Dealroom.co: content licensing and data marketplace startups like Pip Labs and ProRata have raised $215M since 2022 to help artists sell content for AI training  —  New crop of companies are offering artists ability to sell content to big tech firms to train AI

Naver’s in-house corporate venture capital D2SF shared its forthcoming direction to contributing to Korea’s startup ecosystem, vowing to assist up-and-coming startups in entering the North American market. Since launching in 2015, the venture capital has invested in 115 startups across various industries including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, blockchain and health care. Despite focusing on early-stage companies in seed or Series A funding rounds, D2SF has achieved a 96 percent survival rate among its portfolio firms, helping nurture promising startups such as chipmaker FuriosaAI, which drew global attention after turning down a takeover bid from Meta. "We’ve been working to find companies that can create new frontiers and to grow together globally," Naver D2SF Head Yang Sang-hwan said during a press event in southern Seoul. "We wanted to establish a bridgehead for startups to enter the North American market, and introduce good startups in North America into the Korean market

Colin Campbell / Axios: E-commerce logistics startup Cart.com says it raised $50M, is now valued at $1.6B, is on track to cross $500M in revenue this year, and plans more acquisitions  —  Cart.com is now valued at $1.6 billion after raising an additional $50 million in funding, the company tells Axios.

Amazon and Microsoft, OpenAI's principal investor, are backing generative AI startups with hefty investments as well as developing their own technologies.

The startup insists it isn't Theranos 2.0 and that Holmes, who's serving a prison sentence after being convicted of fraud, "has no role."

The defense giant eyes new SRM supplier as demand surges for hypersonic and missile systems The post Lockheed Martin increases investment in solid rocket startup X-Bow Systems appeared first on SpaceNews.

Stylus Medicine, an ambitious startup founded by Patrick Hsu, has raised $85 million to develop a suite of technologies that it believes will help solve some of the biggest and most competitive ...

With over 52 million daily active users and over 100,000 active communities, Reddit is a primary source of news, entertainment, and advice. Can it endure in the AI era?

Steven Scheer / Reuters: Israeli quantum computing startup Classiq raised a $110M Series C led by Entree Capital, taking its total funding to $173M since its 2020 founding  —  Israeli quantum computing startup Classiq has raised $110 million in a mid-stage private funding round, it said on Monday, bringing its total fundraising to $173 million.

Wondermind struggles with unpaid staff and financial setbacks, raising doubts about Gomez's business success and her true role.

Jo Constantz / Bloomberg: A look at “AI-native” startups, which integrate AI into their workflows and team structures, allowing them to operate with fewer employees and consolidate tasks  —  Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy is now trying to tame the bureaucracy this created, arguing the company needs …

Financial Times: Lloyd's of London insurers launch a product to cover companies for losses caused by AI chatbot errors; the policies are developed by YC-backed startup Armilla  —  Policies will pay out for costs such as legal fees and court damages if AI tools underperform  —  Simply sign up to the Artificial …

Jessica Mathews / Fortune: The Trump administration's plan to cut the budget of the NSF, considered key to US tech leadership, by ~57% to $3.9B is alarming the startup and VC sector  —  From NASA to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Trump's reform agenda has thrown numerous federal agencies under the microscope …

Rebecca Szkutak / TechCrunch: ServiceNow agrees to acquire cloud-native data catalog and data governance startup Data.World, which had raised over $130M and was valued at $350M in 2022  —  Enterprise workflow management platform ServiceNow on Wednesday announced its second AI-related acquisition this year.

Virtual diabetes and chronic care startup Omada Health filed to go public on Friday, making it the second digital health company to do so this year as the sector shows signs of picking up after ...

Rippling continues to tap the private markets for capital, and is now valued at $16.8 billion in its latest financing round.

Rippling continues to tap the private markets for capital, and is now valued at $16.8 billion in its latest financing round.

In clinical trials, the accuracy of self-testing with Teal's wand matched that of a cancer screening performed in a doctor's office.

In clinical trials, the accuracy of self-testing with Teal's wand matched that of a cancer screening performed in a doctor's office.

In clinical trials, the accuracy of self-testing with Teal's wand matched that of a cancer screening performed in a doctor's office.

The 2024 Annual Report from the European Defence Agency (EDA) gives us many reasons to be optimistic. It shows a continent waking up to the need for more cooperation, faster […] The post Startups need a clear path to working with the European Defence Agency appeared first on SpaceNews.

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch: SEC filing: Sterling Anderson, CPO and co-founder of self-driving truck startup Aurora, is resigning effective June 1, and will leave the board on August 31  —  Sterling Anderson, a veteran of the nascent autonomous vehicle sector and co-founder of Aurora, is resigning just a week …

French startup VSORA raises $46 million to take on Nvidia with a custom-built AI inference chip.

Marina Temkin / TechCrunch: Sales automation startup Clay lets staff with 1+ year of tenure sell shares in a tender led by Sequoia at a $1.5B valuation, up from $1.25B in January 2025  —  It took seven years of hard work for Kareem Amin, co-founder and CEO of sales automation startup Clay, to see the company's product finally take off in 2022.

Fastino, an AI startup, is training its AI models using affordable graphics cards intended for gaming, saving the company money with a setup that costs under $100,000.

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Levels’s first product was a continuous glucose monitor connected to a $400-per-month health tracking app. Before she was chosen as Donald Trump's latest nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means came from the world of healthcare startups - and cofounded one with a tech entrepreneur who's now a key DOGE operative in charge of dismantling the IRS. In 2019, Means, a holistic medicine doctor who rose to prominence in the Trump-adjacent MAHA movement, launched Levels, a biowearables and health-tracking company, with Sam Corcos, who's now leading efforts at DOGE to construct a "mega API" that compiles American taxpayers' data. The company, whose first product was a blood glucose tracker connected to a $400-per-month subscription app, received tens of millions of dollars funding over the past several years - notably from Andreesen-Horowitz's venture capital arm a16z, which

Billionaire family offices including Ray Dalio's have flocked to SandboxAQ.

Billionaire family offices including Ray Dalio's have flocked to SandboxAQ.

When COVID-19 lockdowns swept across India in 2020, they brought religious life to a halt. Temples were shuttered, large gatherings banned, and in-person rituals suspended - many for the first time in living memory. Millions of devotees were suddenly cut off from their usual spiritual routines, from daily temple visits and bhajans (community singing sessions) to life-cycle ceremonies like weddings and last rites. In the north Indian city of Kanpur, Mohit Tiwari, a 35-year-old priest, began receiving calls from anxious devotees seeking ways to continue their spiritual practices at home. Without access to priests or temple services, many turned to phone calls and video links for guidance. That's when the idea for his startup struck. "I realized we could do everything virtually whether it is spiritual mantras, offerings or rituals, based on an individual's name

Simon Hill / Wired: A look at Silence Speaks, a British startup that has built an AI-powered sign language avatar capable of accurately translating text to British Sign Language  —  New technology from British startup Silence Speaks enables an AI-generated sign language avatar to effectively give the deaf …